Werecat Tomo
by Atticus Flame
Summary: We've all grown to love/hate Wildcat Tomo, but a WEREcat? What happens when Tomo changes into something...more than human? Ever wondered why Kamineko's THAT vicious? Or the real reason Mayaa came back? Read on and find out!
1. Chapter 1: It Hurts!

**A/N:** The following events take place during Episode 24 of the anime series, after which an alternate future unfolds for the Azu-girls.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Azumanga Daioh. Don't sue.

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**Chapter 1 – It Hurts!**

"Hee hee hee hee! Gao, gao gao! Whoo!"

Yomi watched her childhood friend entertain herself thoroughly, her expression one of worry. Despite the bespectacled girl's earlier warning, the wildcat had paid her words absolutely no attention and carried on waving Mayaa about in front of Mr. Tadakichi's nose. She cringed a little, watching Tomo aggravate the Iriomote mountain cat like that.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and Mayaa bounded from Tomo's clutches, the wild cat finally free from the wildcat. There was a pause, and then Tomo slowly turned her head to look at Yomi.

"Hmm?"

"It hurts."

Yomi did a double take and gasped in shock; the girl's hand was bleeding profusely. Tomo clutched her wound, her eyes watery with tears of pain.

All hell broke loose.

"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It _hurrrts_!"

"Ah! Blood! There's blood; there's _blood_! Ahh!"

"See!" Yomi cried, rushing to her best friend's aid. "What did I tell you!"

"Someone call an ambulance! Now!"

Sakaki bopped the Iriomote kitten over his head. "You shouldn't hurt people like that", she scolded, looking down on the feline disapprovingly. Mayaa looked up at her, and then back at the howling waste of flesh than he had just infected.

The deed was done.

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"Dammit, my hand hurts so much", Tomo whined, still clutching her hand, which was now heavily bandaged. They had managed to stem the flow, but apparently, the attack from Mayaa was still throbbing like crazy underneath the dressing. Or perhaps Tomo was just being whiny, which was also a plausible explanation.

"And whose fault is that?" retorted Yomi.

"Like hell I'll ever trust another animal again!"

"You started it; Mayaa didn't like what you were doing to him", chipped in Kagura, who was also reprimanding Tomo for yet another show of immaturity.

"Yeah, if you had been nicer to him, he wouldn't have scratched you."

An angry silence was all they got from Tomo. The teen still believed they had ganged up on her just because she had lost this time round and wanted to get back at her for every time she beat them. Ha. As if. The wildcat would _always_ win. That last one didn't count. _Mayaa won't be so lucky next time_, she thought to herself grumpily.

"Hey, look, it's a cat…kitty-nyaa." chirped Osaka, distracting the group of four for a minute. Indeed, a small black cat had approached the girls, the street lamp casting a light on the small creature.

"Hey, look, an example", Yomi said, thinking that it would be a good opportunity to teach Tomo a lesson in handling cats. "Here, I'll show you how it's done."

The bespectacled girl crouched down. "Here, come on", she cooed, holding out her hand as the cat approached it, innocent-eyed. "See, nothing to be afraid of."

Kamineko took one sniff of Yomi's fingers, and grinned back at her, revealing a very, very sharp set of pointy teeth, not unlike those of a bear trap.

Sensing danger, Yomi quickly snatched Tomo and replaced her own hand with her friend's already damaged one. "Nothing to fear..."

"W-w-what the-?"

The black cat brought its open maw closer to the trembling teen's fingers. It hesitated. Then, its demented grin faded and just as suddenly as it appeared, Kamineko bounded away into the darkness of the nearest alleyway.

The group of friends stared.

"That was odd", commented Yomi.

"Kitty-nyaa ran away."

"Wh…wha…" Tomo turned to face her best friend. "Why the heck were you using my hand for?"

"Well,_ I_ didn't want to get _bitten_."

Tomo made an odd yelp of fear and indignation.

"It's good to have the fear put into you once in a while", quipped Kagura.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Seriously", Kagura muttered, as the athlete and her taller friend walked home together. They had just passed the Takino residence (Tomo was _still_ whining about cats and casualties when they left her at the gate), and were on their way to Yomi's. "You've gotta be some kind of _saint_ to put up with the crap Tomo does. How the hell d'you do it and stay sane after all these years?"

Yomi just smiled faintly. She'd gotten used to this question over the years, by various people who bore witness to the seemingly never-ending chaos to the pair. To them, they were polar opposites, otherwise impossible to get along. So contrasting, to the point that they complimented each other's antics.

"It's not always like that. You'd never believe it, but there's a side to Tomo that…well, _isn't_ that knuckleheaded at all. Just don't tell her I said that, I'd never hear the end of it from her."

Kagura nodded, deep in thought. _Another side to the wildcat?_ She tried to imagine Tomo, straight-faced, seated at her desk upright and all proper, and actually focusing on _math_, of all things, for more than ten seconds instead of causing the next catastrophe that could destroy a nation. The un-Tomo Tomo looked at her straight in the face, and asked, in the politest, sweetest voice she had ever heard, "Do you have anything you need me to help you with?"

The girl shivered. It was actually bordering creepy.

"But you're right", Yomi sighed, bringing Kagura back to reality. "There's no denying she drives me up the wall. Far too much for sanity's sake sometimes."

"Well…y'know, you could always turn to someone else who isn't as…knuckleheaded", Kagura suggested, scratching the back of her head. "Could…could do you wonders for your health and stuff."

Yomi raised an eyebrow. "This coming from a fellow Knucklehead?"

"H-hey! I'm not the _Queen_ of the Knuckleheads!"

"Kagura, you scored the lowest on that test."

"It was just one stupid test", she grumbled, a tinge of red on her cheeks. "'Sides, you don't see me doing stuff like _she_ does."

"You always join in anyway, sooner or later."

"Not _always_."

Yomi shook her head. "You argue just like a Knucklehead, in any case." Then she noticed something. "Say, Kagura, don't you live in another part of this area?"

Kagura started, averting her eyes from Yomi's gaze. "Uh, well, that is…" In trying to look for an explanation for following Yomi, the girl realised that the two were just a few metres away from the Mizuhara residence. "Oh, look, we're here! I guess this is where I say goodbye, huh?" she gabbled, flashing an over-enthusiastic grin that put Kamineko to shame. She backed away as quickly as she could, trying to get away.

"But, wait-"

"See you in school tomorrow!"

"Yeah, but-"

"Sleep well, take care!"

"Kagura-"

"I'll be thinking of you till then! Aw, shit! Uh, I mean…"

"You- wait, what…?"

"Uh, bye!" And with that, Kagura careened round a corner at top speed and disappeared from sight.

Yomi blinked. "What was that all about?"

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Meanwhile, Tomo was walking towards the front door when she gave a tremendous sneeze. She spun round, giving her front gate the dirtiest look she could muster. "Those two", she growled to herself, "they're probably backbiting me right now. I'll get them someday", The wildcat proceeded to enter the house, still in a huff. "I'm home", she called out, a little too grumpily.

Takino Tetsuo put down the evening newspaper he had been poring through. "What's with that tone of voice, young ma'am? And why are you late?" he boomed, a frown on his features.

"Sorry, sir. I had a rough day", Tomo replied, grumbling a little. "And I was at Chiyo-chan's house earlier on. I've had dinner."

"Hnh", the heavyset man grunted in reply, picking up his paper again. "Give me a call next time, if you're going to be this late. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir"

Tomo entered her room and dumped her schoolbag on the floor, and herself on her bed. She groaned into the covers. Yep, it had been a long day. Tomo rolled to lie on her back, and raised her bandaged hand to the ceiling. Her fingers filtered out the ceiling light that shone down on her. She cringed, realising that she would have to undress and dress her wound again. And she had to do it herself.

"Oh well", she groaned, her features sagging. "Better now than never." She grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower", she called out to her father.

Letting the hot water cascade over her body, Tomo slowly undid the bandages on her hand, grimacing as she went. A patch of dried blood caked over the deep gashes where Mayaa had hurt her. "Stupid cat", she muttered, washing away the dirt. "Ow, ow, ow, ow…"

After that, she dried herself off, carefully dabbing away at the wound. Strangely enough, the jagged gash looked less severe than it did a few minutes ago, and now appeared as angry red thunderbolts on the back of her hand.

Tomo grinned at this thought. It was just like that American movie she watched, where a rad…ready...radio…an alien spider bit some nerd on his hand and he became a really cool spider superhero guy, beating up bad guys and saving the day. She had enjoyed the movie thoroughly, and was about to give a standing ovation when Yomi held her down and spoiled her fun. This was just like that, except cooler, 'cause she wasn't a nerd, and Iriomote mountain cats were _way_ cooler than dumb spiders…even if they _were_ jerks. Still, the thing had to be bandaged.

Tomo opened the medicine cabinet and took out a box of bandaids. She then closed it.

And let out a long, loud, wildcat yell.

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**A/N:** And that's it for Chapter 1! Please note, I'm **NEVER** going to abandon any of my fanfics, so no sweat. However, it may be a long stretch in between chapters. I have a life, yanno. Please R&R! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2: Living Unleashed

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews, guys. You've motivated me to write sooner! Not that I wasn't going to, but…you know. : 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Azumanga Daioh. Don't sue.

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Chapter 2 – Living Unleashed

"GUH-_HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH_!"

Tomo backed away as fast as she could, but seeing as how small the bathroom already was, tripped over the hem of her towel and fell backwards onto the floor, her butt smacking painfully on the tiles. "Oof!" she cried, cringing a little.

From outside, Tomo heard her father toss down his paper. "What the hell did you break this time, girl?" he hollered, rather annoyed.

"N-nothing! I just…just tripped!"

"Be careful, dammit!"

Tomo gingerly picked herself off the floor, and chanced a peek at the mirrored side of the medicine cabinet again. Nope. There was just plain old stupid Tomo, staring back at her just as incredulously. But she could've sworn she'd seen something else behind her a few minutes ago. Something like a giant monster cat…

"Bah! That stupid Mayaa's getting into my head as well!" muttered Tomo angrily, ruffling her hair with both hands. "You'll have yours soon, you, you…you cat!"

Stepping out of the bathroom, Tomo examined the bandaid on the back of her hand, and grinned. After that spider movie, she'd seen a box of bandaids with the movie theme selling in the pharmacy. It had taken her quite a struggle to get the box, after Yomi held her back forcefully, telling her that it was a waste of money. How wrong she was, thought Tomo. They came in handy after all.

After putting on a fresh pair of pyjamas, Tomo slid under her covers and gave an almighty yawn. She wondered a split second later, if she had beat Osaka's old record. But that didn't matter now. All she wanted was to shut her eyes and get a good night's sleep, maybe dreaming of getting superpowers from animal bites…

Little did Tomo know that her dreams would soon become a reality.

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"_Takino Tomo."_

Tomo's eyes snapped open. Then she blinked several times, just to make sure that her eyes _were_ indeed open. The stifling darkness still remained.

Fear gripped her chest, sending her into a panic attack.

"WAAAAAUGH! I'M BLIND! I'M _BLIND_! I'VE GONE BLIND, I CAN'T EVEN USE _YOMI'S _GLASSES FOR THIS SHIT- "

"_SILENCE!"_

Tomo stopped. "Well, at least I'm not deaf. Oh crap! That means I can't block out Yomi's horrible singing! _Why_! Why'd you -"

"_I SAID SILENCE!"_

Tomo shut up completely.

"_The fates of two worlds hang in precarious balance. The final battle draws near. The hopes of an entire generation rest on your shoulders. What will you do?"_

Tomo raised an eyebrow. "Wait. I'm in an RPG now?"

"_No."_

"Oh."

"_As of today, you are no longer who you were. Taken, you have been, by a faction, as their own. The decision is yours to join the fight or detract from it. Should you intervene in the Great War, in any case, your fate will inevitably be intertwined with the souls of others who have pledged their souls to this cause. The outcome draws near."_

"W-wait! I don't get it!"

"_Change comes your way. No longer will you join the ranks of humanity. Welcome…Takino Tomo."_

In the darkness, a piercing wildcat cry echoed in Tomo's ears. Another and another accompanied the cry, each cry coming closer to the girl than the one before. Tomo ran blindly, panicked, in the suffocating abyss that lay before her, but to no avail. She turned, just as the monster rose over her form, letting out an ear-splitting screech….

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"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"KEEP IT _DOWN_, GIRL! YOUR OLD MAN'S GONNA HAVE A HEART ATTACK!"

Tomo sat up. The surrounding four walls of her bedroom greeted her eyes. No empty black masses or weird booming voices in the background. Wait. Minus her father's. She had been dreaming, granted, but what about? The last remnants of it had disappeared with her waking up. Whatever the case, she certainly needed to get a move on for school, even though she dreaded it.

Washing her face, she stared back at herself in the mirror. Her hair was slightly tousled. Somehow, Tomo thought that it actually looked…cool, to a certain extent. Almost instinctively, she grabbed her father's styling wax (which he used on his thinning mop) and applied a little of it onto her own hair, careful to keep it spiked. After a minute of it, she stood back and admired her creation. She really _did_ look pretty awesome. Heck, she thought, with a smirk on her face, why not go the whole way? Ruffling her spiked hair, Tomo messed it up to the point of it being artfully done. Tomo grinned. _Better than even Kagura's_, she thought_. Like some kickass RPG dude with a kickass giant blade._

Ready for school, Tomo swaggered out the front door, not even saying a word to her father as she left the house. It was a beautiful day. Heck, thought Tomo, smiling to herself again, why waste a beautiful day like this one cooped up in a classroom? She took a leisurely stroll along the way to school, kicking over dustbins whenever she came across one, just for the fun of it, as well as imagining the face of the unlucky cleaner who would be on duty that day, which produced an evil snicker from the girl.

Eventually, she reached school…about half an hour after classes began. Tomo cursed under her breath at the sight of a teacher still present at the school gate. That meant she had to get through him to get in, which meant getting into trouble. Which meant detention. Which, in turn, meant her father flipping out on her for getting into trouble. Again.

Not wanting to get busted for her tardiness, she took a running leap, ran up a fence and leapt over it in one unbroken move, landing gently into the school grounds. Smiling smugly to herself, she walked off towards class 3-3. But all of a sudden, Tomo stopped short, the smile morphing into an expression of utmost curiosity and confusion. She turned around and stared back at the fence, frowning.

"Did – did I just do all that?"

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Yukari-sensei's class had dissolved into a period of self-study after said teacher had fallen asleep at her desk yet again. The students in class 3-3 had already completed the assignment that had been written on the chalkboard for them, and were now busy doing their own revision. That was with the exception of the remaining Knuckleheads. Osaka had fallen asleep as well and was twitching (presumably due to a Chiyo nightmare), and Kagura was alternating between stealing glances at a particular girl in class, and pretending to keep herself busy with schoolwork, although making a rather unconvincing effort (her book was upside down). And strangely enough, Mizuhara Koyomi as well.

On any other day, Yomi too would have been preoccupied with her own revision when Yukari was having a lie-in during class time. Today, however, not only was she breaking this habit of hers, but she was also breaking a school rule – using her cellphone in the middle of class. The bespectacled girl had sent at least three messages to Tomo, who had not replied any of them. This was strange, firstly because Tomo would reply almost immediately to any text message on her own phone, and secondly, Tomo was always cluttering up her inbox with nonsense on top of that. Thus, it simply didn't make sense to Yomi that Tomo wasn't replying her messages (which broke the rules for a_ valid _reason, mind you) asking why she wasn't in school. Which was another mystery in itself, seeing as how Tomo never got too ill to go to school (if she ever _got_ ill) and although did come in late on occasion, was never _this_ late.

The sudden slamming of the classroom's front door snapped Yomi out of her train of thought, and woke Yukari up, who let out a shriek. There in the doorway, was…Tomo?

Yomi's jaw dropped a little. It certainly didn't _look_ like Tomo, what with the outrageous hair and cold scowl on her face. But after being friends for so long, Yomi could tell that it was indeed Tomo, even if she had been wearing a giant cat costume.

"You're _late_", growled Yukari grumpily, angry at having been woken up than anything else.

"We all have our days, Yukari-baby", replied Tomo flippantly, waving a hand. "'Least _I_ get my games the day they get released."

Yukari grabbed a piece of chalk, ready to hurl it at the back of the girl's head (which was in full view), but decided against it due to her lack of energy and plopped back down again on her seat, tossing the chalk behind her shoulder. "Work's on board. Do yer stuff. Now lemme rest", she muttered in one breath, laying her head on the desk once more.

Yomi glared angrily at Tomo as she sat herself down. "What's up with you? I waited almost half an hour and you didn't show up! I was almost late for school! And what's with the hair?"

Tomo shrugged, not looking at Yomi once. "Just felt like it. Now stop your yapping and leave me alone." She then pulled out a comic book from her book bag and proceeded to read, leaning back in her seat.

Yomi was taken aback by this, but it wasn't going to deter her. Roughly pulling the other girl's comic book down, her eyes met with Tomo's, both girls flaring up in annoyance. "Look, if this was about yesterday- "

"I don't give a _damn_ about yesterday", Tomo growled, snatching her comic book away from Yomi. "Why the hell d'you always have to be on my fucking case, Yomi? Trying to be some kind of mother figure or something? What, you think I can't fucking take care of myself? Just cause my mom couldn't doesn't mean I _can't!_"

A few students nearby overheard the commotion and turned to look at the bickering pair. Kagura, on the other hand, was staring down so hard on her textbook it appeared she was trying to make it burst into flames. Every word that came out of Tomo's lips roused her anger. _How could Tomo say such things to Yomi?_ She thought. _They've been best friends for so long!_

Yomi was hurt by this sudden outburst, but didn't show any of it. "Look", she started, careful to keep her voice down, as more people turned to look at them. "I was just worried- "

"Yeah well, you're better off worrying about your weight, fatty", came the harsh reply, as Tomo snickered at her own comment.

That did it.

Yomi brought her fist down on her desk, causing Yukari to twitch in her sleep. Everybody in the class turned to see the commotion. "SHUT _UP_!" she cried, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Why are you acting like this? What's your problem?"

"_YOU_ ARE! SO GET OUT OF MY FACE!" Tomo roared, storming out of the classroom.

All was silent.

"Hun…hundruhh…yen", murmured Yukari in her sleep.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Yomi rushed out of the classroom after the person she called her best friend. In the corridor, she just caught sight of Tomo's skirt disappearing behind a corner. "Tomo!" she called after the girl, but no response came her way. "When I find out what's up, you are _so_ paying for this", she muttered to herself in anger, picking up her pace.

Tomo clambered up the safety railing on the school's rooftop, tossed her head back and closed her eyes. "Damn, this feels _good_", she purred, a smile slowly spreading on her lips. The cool wind blew against her face. She made a sudden lurch forward, so that she was directly facing the ground that lay below. Tomo imagined herself hurtling downwards, the solid, cemented pavement eating up more and more of her vision until-

"Tomo! Get away from there!" a familiar voice called from behind. Tomo cursed under her breath.

Yomi ran up to the girl, who now defiantly sat herself on the edge of the railing. "Are you crazy?" Yomi cried, clearly panicking. "Get down now, or- "

"Or _what?_" challenged Tomo, leering at her from the railing. "You gonna sit on me, fatty?"

Yomi's hands balled up into fists. "Or you'll get yourself hurt", she answered, her voice quavering in indignation as she tried her best to keep a steady tone of voice.

"Who are you, my mom? She's _dead_, stupid."

"Tomo, please. I know"

"Stupid. Stupid Yomi, stupid", Tomo chanted, rocking back and forth, tipping precariously over the edge of the railing.

"No, stop- "

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…"

"Will you just- "

"Stupid Yomi, _stupid_ Yomi, stupid, stupid, _stupid_, _STUPID_ YOMI…"

"Tomo, stop-!"

"STUPID YOMI, STUPID, IDIOTIC YOMI, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID MORON- "

"ENOUGH! Get down from there!" Yomi shouted, making a grabbing motion for Tomo's arm. At the same time, Tomo pushed herself backwards, away from Yomi's outstretched hand.

It was only then that Tomo realised that she had lost her balance.

Yomi watched in mute horror as her best friend slipped off the railing, falling backwards in slow-motion, her taunting grin gradually turning into a mask of utmost terror as she plunged downwards, picking up speed, the wind whistling fiercely in her ears.

_I'm going to die._

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**A/N:** What's this? Tomo with an extra dose of reckless? I call it the Werecat syndrome. Well, I'll try to get Chapter 3 up and running as soon as possible. I get my college entrance results tomorrow, so it may take a while. Wish me luck!


	3. Chapter 3: The Animal Instinct

**A/N:** Wow, college life's been taking a toll on my spare time! It's great here – love my class, love my subjects, and best of all, absolutely LOVE my new eye candy! But that, we shall reserve for another time. I apologise for the loooong delay between chapters! So, without further ado, let's start this one!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Azumanga Daioh. Don't sue.

***

Chapter 3 – The Animal Instinct

***

Falling.

It felt so ordinary, thought Tomo. Like that time she swung way too high on the playground tires and flew off, landing face-first into the sand. Or the time she tripped over Chiyo (who was tying her shoelaces) as she was running on the tracks and skidded on the hard rubber. Maybe even the time she ran too fast down the school stairs and fell down a whole flight of them, or when she tried to fly off her bedroom cabinet as a kid. She was used to that.

But it was different this time, thought Tomo, as her hair blew back, the air stinging her eyes. This time, she wasn't sure of whether she'd be able to get back up again after getting knocked down. Now, she wasn't so sure of surviving the fall. She couldn't tell whether she'd live or die. Those falls were five feet, at most.

This time, she was plunging down five storeys.

***

Yomi stood rooted to the ground, still staring at the spot where her childhood companion had been perched on just mere fractions of a second ago. Thin air stood where Tomo's leering, taunting face had been. The cold wind blew through Yomi; wind which would have been blocked by Tomo's now missing form.

Missing, because she had fallen over the ledge.

As if her legs had suddenly unlocked, Yomi sprang forward towards the edge, her eyes wet and wild with frantic tears, her head knowing, just knowing what lay at the bottom, but her heart hoping for just one small miracle, anything, anything at all that would save her dearest, closest…

"Tomo! TOMO! _TOMO!_"

***

Tomo closed her eyes, bracing herself for the final blow. _This is it._

But the impact never came.

Like the gears in a clutch, some mysterious force clawed at the wildcat's insides, grabbing hold of her like puppet strings. Like a marionette, her body moved of its own accord, like it was being pulled by a puppet master.

Or rather, Tomo just knew how to move. It felt natural, as she somersaulted in the air. Fluid, like water. She just knew.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow down, first becoming sluggish, and then shifting into a complete and utter halt.

Tomo opened her eyes, and they widened almost immediately in shock.

She was hovering.

Hovering, it seemed, just several feet away from the concrete floor that, if she had landed on, would most certainly result in the task of scraping her off the pavement. There she was, her limbs stretched out, taking the shape of a starfish suspended in mid air.

As if instinctively knowing what to do, Tomo immediately shifted herself into a new position, her limbs cocked, ready to take the impact of the fall. And fall she did, just a split second after that, gravity working its way back at light speed, and Tomo landed on the ground with a surprisingly gentle thud.

Just as suddenly as it came, the force clawing in the pit of Tomo's stomach left her, like a vice coming undone. Immediately, she felt her body grow incredibly heavy and worn-out, as if the strange force had sapped all of her energy with its departure. Tomo fell to her side, and rolled onto her back groaning. Weakly staring up, she saw the school building looming over her like a great grey goliath. It swayed before her and grew fuzzy in her vision.

Then all was dark.

***

Yomi stood where she was, half her body leaning over the railing, her eyes so wide open they were in danger of falling out her sockets. The initial fear had now left her; now, all that remained was renewed shock at what she had seen. Tomo had actually done several flips in the air and landed safely onto the ground below. Tomo, of all people, who was one of the worst students in P.E for Class Three, had actually done mid-air flips.

And she had survived a fall which would have killed the average high school student.

Yomi gripped tightly onto the railing, clutching it so hard her knuckles turned white. Her knees gave way and she slid to the floor, breathing hard, her heart drumming so fast she thought it would explode.

Perhaps she was hallucinating, Yomi thought. Maybe it was all just a sick, twisted dream of sorts. Maybe she was still back in bed, tangled under her warm and toasty covers and early morning dreams. She slapped herself to make sure of it.

Nothing happened.

The bespectacled girl peeked through the bars again, looking down at the ground below her. Tomo had rolled over to her side, staring back up at her. Yomi gave a weak smile; new tears of relief started welling up in her eyes.

But then she stopped, shaking her head. "God, what the hell am I thinking? She just fell off the goddamn school building!" Scrambling back up to her feet, Yomi rushed all the way down to the ground floor, a stitch in her side as she ran. There in the school yard was Tomo, lying still on the ground. She could have almost been asleep.

Yomi kneeled beside the girl, propping her head up. "Tomo? Tomo, come on, get up. Come on, Tomo, wake up, I know you're alright. You've got to get up", she breathed, trying to rouse the wildcat awake.

Tomo inhaled deeply. Her eyelids fluttered and parted. Blinking twice, she cast a dazed look at Yomi, who threw her arms around her in a tight embrace. "Thank God, Tomo, thank God you're alive…"

WHAP!

"OW!"

"THANK GOD YOU'RE ALIVE, YOU IDIOT!" raged Yomi, her sudden warmth dissipating into thin air. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? How the…why did you…is this another one of your stupid tricks? Are you trying to get back at me for yesterday? I can't – believe – you'd pull – a stunt – like – this!" she screamed, her sentence punctuated with a punch to Tomo's noggin.

"Ah - OW! YOMI'S GONE NUTS! OW! OW! OW! AAH! OW!"

"Serves you right, this whole day you've been ASKING FOR IT!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"SAY THAT AGAIN!" Yomi bellowed, raising a potentially deadly fist into the air. "Don't you DARE come up with that!"

"Honest, Yomi, I swear I don't know!" Tomo cried frantically, her hands shielding her aching head. "One minute I was sleeping and the next I'm…I'm…"

She stopped. Poking about in her hair, she turned to Yomi. "My hair…what's happened to it?"

Yomi's hand fell to her side, and the murderous look on her face seemed to soften. "You mean…you don't…?"

But just as quickly, Yomi's glasses flashed dangerously again. "Oh no, you don't! I'm not falling for _that_ trick!"

"What trick? What the hell are you talking about?" retorted Tomo, who was fiddling with her spiked hair. "Eww, GROSS! This stuff's the kind of stuff my _dad_ puts in his hair! Did you guys pull a cosplay prank on me or something while I was sleeping? You guys suck, that's MY job!"

But Yomi was no longer listening to her. She watched with her eyebrows furrowed as Tomo grumbled and fussed over the mutilated mop of hair on her head. Yes, this was definitely the Tomo she'd grown up with over the years. She could sense it, that Tomo was indeed being her old self. No weird, absurd foreign change whatsoever.

Then what of the Tomo she had been with earlier on? What was with that… that shift in her behavior? It was almost as if she had been…possessed…by some other being. Tomo was, without a doubt, obnoxious, but back there that had been too much, even by wildcat standards. It was no longer the innocent, albeit annoying manner in which the girl entertained her friends with. It was almost as if she took pleasure in deliberately hurting. She seemed so…cold.

"So why are we here again?"

Tomo's abrupt question snapped Yomi back to the current situation. The girl was seated cross-legged on the ground, staring intently back at the bespectacled girl with round eyes.

"You mean you have no idea…?"

"I told you before; I don't _know_ what's happened!" Tomo retorted, waving her arms in the air. "Why else would I be asking you? Geez Yomi, is the fat getting to your ears too?"

Yomi chose to ignore the last comment. "Nothing?"

"Not a thing. How'd I get to school, anyway?"

Yomi stared back at her friend, worry written all over her face. She couldn't see a hint of a lie on Tomo, which scared her the most. It was almost as if Tomo really wasn't there when she was acting absolutely batshit crazy. Still, she had her doubts; Tomo had a pretty good poker face when she needed to pull one, such as now, if she was indeed plotting an epic prank, like she had guessed. Nevertheless, Yomi decided to play along... in the rather unlikely event that she was right, and that Tomo really had no clue about what she did. "Do you remember coming in late for school? Coming into class?"

Tomo scrunched her face, thinking hard. "Now that you mention it…yeah, maybe that did happen to me. I mean, I don't exactly remember what happened, but hey, I had to come into school, right? Otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you. Wow, it's like a HUGE portion of my brain's been taken out, I can't remember a whole bunch of things, Yomi! Like I was abducted by aliens or something, and then they went about poking the mush in my brain, like some sci-fi movie…"

"I doubt you even _have_ a brain sometimes", uttered Yomi under her breath.

"Eh?"

"Nothing." Yomi got up, and extended a hand towards Tomo to help her up. "I'll clear up stuff with you later, but right now we've got to get back to class. Yukari's probably awake now and wondering where we've been", she said, re-entering the school building.

"Wait, it's Yukari's class now? But I can't remember if I've already copied your homework! Did I, Yomi?"

***

Kagura absentmindedly doodled on a piece of scrap paper that she had lying around, all the while frowning. She had half-hoped Yukari would've woken up when Tomo yelled like that. Instead, the English teacher was still as dead asleep as she had been before, with the occasional mumble about bets or drinks. At least, that was what it sounded like. Kagura had hoped that at least Yukari sensei would've been able to tell Tomo off, at the very least.

She didn't get it. Why Tomo always had to mess around like she always did. Not that Kagura had issues about messing around, though; she always ended up being in cahoots with Tomo and Osaka when it came to Knucklehead business. And Tomo could be heaps of fun when she wanted to be, Kagura could vouch for that.

It was when Tomo really ended up pissing people off that annoyed Kagura. She couldn't see how anyone would ever want to be the bane of anyone's existence. She hated it when she became a hindrance to anyone, regardless of whether it was just a small issue or not, which was why she was so upset when she had accidentally knocked over the tent her friends had been setting up just before the Sports Festival. Inconveniencing people was something she tried her best not to do. Which was why Kagura doubted Tomo even had a conscience; the way she kept driving Yomi up the wall, it was like she didn't even feel the slightest bit of guilt.

But today, Tomo had really pushed the limit. Those words she had spat back at Yomi, her friend…her best friend, mind you…they were spiteful and vicious. And even then, Yomi still cared enough to follow her out the classroom. Kagura just didn't get how anyone could've stuck with her for so long and not ditch her somewhere along the way. Whatever the case, she just couldn't see that 'other side' of Tomo that Yomi talked about.

Just then, the pair returned, Tomo in front, with Yomi walking a little behind, looking somewhat exhausted just as the school bell went off. Noticing the tired-looking appearance of the latter, Kagura turned back to her desk feeling a little more ticked off than before.

"So…I did all that?" Tomo said incredulously. "_Wow_."

"And just when I thought you couldn't get more annoying", said Yomi, turning to the shorter girl. "You know, I'm starting to believe that that really wasn't you back there."

"Ah, Yomi-kun, how could you ever believe little old Tomo's lying to you? You know I never do. Besides, hard, cold cruelty just isn't my style."

"Yeah, you never lie…unless you're planning another great prank."

Tomo shook her head. "You're so, so cold."

"And you're so, so loud and annoying."

"How could it have happened, though? It seems kinda creepy once you think about it. Like something's taken over me. Something like…Chiyo's pigtails!"

"Chiyo's…wait, what?"

"Pigtails."

"…do I want to know?"

"No, seriously, Osaka was telling me the other day about it, it makes so much sense now, you know…"

Yukari, having been roused by the collective commotion of the class, stretched out like a cat and let out a wide yawn. This noise must mean the period's over, thought the English teacher. "Class dismissed", she mumbled, walking out of class with her eyes half-closed.

Kagura hastily cleared her desk of the stuff cluttered on its surface, and stuffed it into her bag. She welcomed this period; it was always a session for her to let off steam from all the confusion she faced during normal lessons. Kagura shook her head, clearing her mind of any negative thoughts; that was no state to get her mind into before playing any sport. She turned to the tall young woman seated near the window, staring out of it with a vacant expression on her face. She could always count on her rival to liven things up for any sort of competition. "Hey Sakaki", she exclaimed, putting on her trademark grin, "Me and you. I'm gonna beat your timing today!"

Sakaki, rudely interrupted from a fuzzy daydream of flying Nekokonekos, merely turned to the tan girl and nodded silently. Sighing in slight disappointment, she rose from her desk and joined the rest of her group of friends. "I really wish she hadn't", she uttered softly, a little sad.

A few classes away, a girl with chin length hair sneezed.

***

Tomo was _hyped._

Today, she was gonna beat the rest of class 3-3 in doing laps. Today, this was gonna be the day that she would overcome her weaknesses and become number one. Today she was jumping up and down at the starting line, along with several other girls; Kagura and Sakaki included. The class was taking turns in doing laps and well, she just had to be among the ones to do that first.

"Alright", called out Kurosawa-sensei as she walked towards the track. "Get ready…three, two, one…"

_FWEEEEEEEE!_

Like a bullet, Tomo shot off ahead, racing madly down the track while the rest of her classmates fell into a steady jogging pace behind her. "Awright! First for the start!" yelled Tomo as she careened round a bend.

"Tomo! You're not supposed to spend all your energy like that; we're just doing laps, not racing!" cried out the exasperated gym teacher, although she knew her words were falling on deaf ears. The girl never listened.

And true enough, by the first quarter of the second lap, Tomo was several yards away from the second last runner on the track.

Kagura jogged along, her legs keeping a steady rhythm as they moved, one ahead of the other over and over again in an unbroken beat. She was doing great; Sakaki was jogging along at the same pace as she was. The only thing that irked the athlete was that Sakaki was completely unfocused on the track, instead choosing to focus her line of sight on something else. How the heck does she make it look so effortless? , she thought, casting a sidelong glance at her. She decided that it was best to just finish the laps without paying much attention to her rival (who, unbeknownst to the athlete, was paying very much attention to a kitten that had made its way onto the school grounds). It only served to sink her spirits at not being able to beat her.

No, I shouldn't be thinking that, she thought, snapping out from it. Sakaki's a natural athlete, but I've got it in me too, and I've got way more drive than she does!

With that, Kagura put in an extra boost to her pace, and sped up a few feet ahead of Sakaki, grinning. Just for kicks, she decided to sneak a peek behind her, maybe to catch a glimpse of surprise and indignation from her rival. To the contrary, Sakaki remained fixated on a particular point off the track, but was still keeping up her regular pace, if not faster.

"The hell…? She's not even trying to compete!"

Gritting her teeth in frustration, she decided to forget it completely. Just then, she noticed something.

"Hey…Sakaki? Wasn't Tomo in the lead at the start?"

***

Yards behind the rest of her classmates, Tomo sluggishly plodded on, her chest hurting like crazy. Wheezing and panting, the girl could just barely jog, let alone run through the track. Her legs were trembling like jelly, being unsuited for long periods of running.

The sun continued to beat down on the girl, sweat making her shirt stick to her hunched back. She wondered how the hell anyone could call a day with the big fat ball of fire in the sky beautiful, glaring angrily at the sky – and then making a feeble noise of discomfort as sunlight shone in her eye. On and on Tomo plodded.

The blood in her ears thundered all the more, her head becoming light and dizzy with all the panting she was doing. The track seemed miles long.

And suddenly, Tomo felt it happening again; that familiar feeling, of losing herself, creeping back up.

Shit...I remember now…

She slowed down, and so did the rest of the world. She screwed her eyes shut, trying to mentally pry the…being, the animal, out of her mind.

This morning…that wildness…

Tomo bit down hard, gritting her teeth.

Can't let it take over! I don't know what's gonna happen…

The girl struggled, trying to keep a hold on consciousness. But running had worn her down, and the sun was draining every last bit of energy she had left.

_Slipping…I gotta…I can't…_

_Too late. You lose. My turn, wimp._

In an instant, Tomo's eyes snapped open again. Hard, cold and vicious, as they had been that morning. Not at all like the girl she had grown to be. The animal inside her flexed, its powerful limbs moving with Tomo's own, filling her up with renewed energy. Adrenaline flowed through her veins at lightning speed, along with that same, strange ferality. All that remained now was…

_GO._

Like a bullet, she shot ahead, strong, fast and hard. Her legs were moving like clockwork at an amazing speed. Slowly, but surely, she was gaining back all the distance she'd lost. Eventually, she joined the rest of the students in position, all of who immediately stopped and stared at their once worst-conditioned classmate.

Kagura turned around to see what the commotion was about, and had the shock of her life. Tomo, of all people, was charging down the track, right towards where she was.

Quickly, she turned her attention back to the front and started sprinting for all she was worth. "I don't know what's going on", she cried, through ragged breaths, "but you're not beating _me!_"

Sakaki blinked, snapping out of her reverie from Kagura's yelling, turned back to what she was doing…and almost got knocked over by a speeding Tomo despite her size.

"T-Tomo?"

"Outta my way, tits!"

Sakaki practically skidded to a halt, her face terribly red and her eyes wide open. She wrapped her arms around her chest, extremely uncomfortable.

"I…it's not my fault."

***

"YEAH! Take _that_, jockface!"

Kagura just stood there, in utter disbelief and shock. She wasn't dreaming – she'd pinched herself five times, doused herself in her water bottle water, hit her forehead against the bottle, and pinched herself again for good measure. She was definitely wide awake – in a nightmare.

Had she finally sunk lower in rank? Tomo had actually beaten her own rival, as well as herself. Did this mean…Kagura cringed at the thought… that Tomo was her new rival? Sports was something Kagura took very, very seriously, and to have things turn out like that…

_Aw man_, thought Kagura, _this bites!_ _First Yomi likes her better, and now I gotta get past her to be the best athlete in school?_ _What next, she getting superpowers or something?_

Still, she had been taught since her first encounter with Sakaki's athletic prowess that good sportsmanship was key to being a good sportsman. Kagura glanced over at Kurosawa-sensei, who was running alongside the stragglers on the track, and gave a determined nod. After all, Tomo was still her friend, no matter how annoying she was at times. Plus, she had to give the girl some credit – her improvement on the track had gone up beyond anything she had seen!

"Hey, Tomo", she cried, running up to her. "That was beyond awesome! Been training lately?"

Kagura heard something resembling a small snarl, and stared as Tomo slowly turned round, a scowl on her face. "I don't need to train…unlike someone who's always playing second fiddle to Miss Sakaki", she retorted, a small sneer on her face.

Taken aback, Kagura frowned. "Shut up man, I just thought…"

"'Thought'? Wow, Kagura, you telling me you actually have a working _brain_ underneath all that jock muscle?"

"Quit being so damn rude-"

"Don't tell me what to do, you _dyke!_"

***

Yomi looked up from the leg stretches she was doing with the rest of the class who weren't running yet. The voices were coming from two familiar figures standing by the track. Her eyes immediately darted to the one with the oddly-spiked hair. She was swaggering around, an ugly smirk on her face.

"Tomo."

Sensing trouble, she quickly made her way towards the two.

***

Kagura's mouth fell open in indignation. "D-dyke? What the hell, how – I'm not! "

"Right, like I'm going to believe that", Tomo hissed, grinning evilly. "I've seen the way you look at Yomi, how you just love siding with her up against me – you like her don't you? And please, you call that thing with Sakaki rivalry? Get a room, will ya?"

The tanned girl took a step back, embarrassed by every accusation that was spilling out of Tomo's mouth. Her eyes were filling with tears of rage. "Shut up! Shut up, it's not true…"

"Haha! Aww, is little Kagura sad cause Tomo knows all her secrets? Crybaby, crybaby! Ahahaha!"

THWOCK.

A collective gasp was heard among the students who were now watching the spectacle with great interest. Kagura's fist was outstretched, her knuckles now throbbing slightly with pain, having come into contact with flesh and hard bone. The athlete was panting, panicking, having struck out in blind fury, her eyes wild and teary. Tomo had her head turned slightly to the side, a purplish bruise beginning to form on her left cheek. Time seemed to stand still, frozen in petrified silence.

Yomi, just a few feet away, gasped. Nobody had ever managed to hit Tomo, save herself.

Kagura quickly withdrew her trembling fist, having returned back to reality. "Oh crap", she breathed, a hand extended to help Tomo. "I'm sorry; I'm so sorry Tomo…"

"…_bitch_."

Kagura froze. Tomo turned back to face her, a terrible expression on her face. There was nothing but rage, and a wild insanity blazed in her eyes, screaming death. Her teeth were bared, and Kagura could hear an audible growl issuing from her. The athlete shrunk back; this was not Tomo, not Tomo at all.

"NOBODY", growled Tomo, taking a step forward, "TOUCHES ME! DO YOU HEAR ME, DYKE? DO YOU HEAR ME?"

"Tomo, wait!"

"SHUT UP!"

"_NO!_"

Just as Tomo lunged forward, her fist curled to launch a square hit in Kagura's gut, Yomi pushed her out of the way…and took the blow.

***

**A/N:** And that's it for Chapter 3! Expect the new chapter to come up around two weeks from now, if not later. Bye for now!


End file.
